Pile driver



June 15, 1954 J. B. TEMPLETON 2,680,955

FILE DRIVER Filed Nov. 13, 1950 JOHN B. 7Z'MPLE ro/v 1N VEN TOR.

A TTORNE Y Patented June 15, 1954 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE PILE DRIVER John B. Templeton, Dallas, Tex.

Application November 13, 1950, Serial No. 195,251

Claims.

This invention relates to pile drivers and more particularly to devices designed to be interposed between the hammer of a pile driver and the end of the pile to be driven by the pile driver.

Pile drivers are employed to drive piles of various structural shapes into the ground. In order to distribute the force of the blows of the hammer of the pile driver uniformly to the ends of piles of different structural shapes, adaptor plates of different shapes conforming to the different end structural shapes of the piles are secured to the follow block of the pile driver. In operation it is often necessary to change adaptor plates, and for this reason the adaptor plates should be capable of being easily secured to and detached from the follow block of the pile driver. In addition, the adaptor plates should be rotatable with respect to the follow block in order that they may be properly oriented over the ends of the piles without rotating the follow block or other components of the pile driver. Furthermore, the means for rotatably securing the adaptor plates to the follow block must be capable of withstanding the repeated severe stresses to which it is subjected during the driving of the pile.

Accordingly, it is one object of the invention to provide a new and improved follow block and adaptor plate assembly for pile drivers.

It is another object of the invention to provide a new and improved follow block and adaptor plate assembly for pile drivers in which the adaptor plate is detachably and rotatably secured to the follow block.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved follow block and adaptor plate assembly for pile drivers in which the member rotatably securing the adaptor plate to the follow block is protected against severe stresses during operation of the pile driver.

Briefly stated, the new and improved device for uniformly distributing the force of the blows of the hammer driver comprises a follow block secured to the pile driver and having an impact block disposed beneath the hammer of the pile driver. A cushioning pile of metal disks is interposed between the impact block and the follow block. The adaptor plate and the follow block are provided with registering central apertures through which a bolt extends to secure the members together. In order to minimize the stresses to which the bolt is subj ected during the operation of the pile driver, a sleeve of resilient substance is disposed about the shank of the bolt and fabric or fibre disks or washers are positioned between the head of the bolt and the adaptor and between the nut and the follow block to prevent unyielding connection of the bolt with either the follow block or the adaptor plate.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the reading of the following description of a device constructed in accordance with the invention, and reference to the accompanying drawings thereof, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in section, of a follow block and adaptor plate assembly, taken generally along the line of Figure 2, with certain parts further broken away to clearly Show the securing bolt,

Figure 2 is a reduced bottom plan view of the device illustrated in Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a similar bottom plan View of an adaptor plate for a different shaped pile, and

Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of still another adaptor.

In the drawings, the numeral it designates a follow block having a main portion or body I I and a central annular flange i2 extending perpendicularly from one side of the body. Legs l3, l4, I5 and l B, which are integral with the body I l pro- J'ect from the body on the side opposite flange l2, such legs being disposed at opposite corners of the body and having side sections 53a and I31), lea and Mb, 15a and I51), and Ito and ltb respectively, which are perpendicular to each other and are connected by diagonal middle sections I30, 14c, 15c and 160, respectively.

The follow block If] is provided with a central aperture lila which extends axially inwardly through flange !2 and into the body I l, and which is reduced at a point intermediate opposite sides of the main portion to form an annular abutment or ledge IT in said body. A retaining disk l8 and a spacer disk l9, having registering central apertures, are supported in juxtaposition on the ledge fl, and two piles 29 and 2! of thin metal plates, preferably made of steel or the like and separated by a plate 22, are disposed Within the aperture and rest upon a solid disk 23 which is in turn supported by the spacer disk. A diskshaped impact or collar block it rests on the upper pile of thin plates and is of such thickness that its upper portion is exposed beyond the end of the flange l2. The piles of thin plates between the disk 23 and the impact block, which receives the blows of the hammer of the pile driver, serve to cushion or absorb the shocks of the hammer and to more uniformly distribute the force of the hammer blows to an adaptor plate 25 which is carried by the follow block and engages the up- 3 per end of a pile (not shown) being driven by the hammer.

The flange 12 has an inwardly inclined outer surface 26 which fits into the hammer base of the pile driver in the conventional manner. An annular tapered adaptor ring 2'! fits about the inclined surface 26 of the flange, and may be provided to enable the follow block ill to be employed with pile drivers having hammer base of different sizes.

The adaptor plate comprises a circular plate 2? having an upwardly projecting cylindrical hub or boss 23, which extends into the reduced portion or the central aperture Illa in the follow block and has an upper surface 2842 which abuts the lower surface of the retaining disk 48. The adaptor plate is formed with an axial aperture 281; which registers with the apertures in the retaining disk I8 and spacer disk l9, and the lower portion of said aperture is enlarged to form a downwardly facing shoulder or ledge 29. The adaptor plate is secured to the follow block it by a belt 30 which extends through the registerin apertures of the retainin disk and the adaptor plate. A fibre gasket and a washer 32 are interposed between the retaining disk and a nut 33 threaded onto the end of the bolt, while a similar gasket 34 and washer 35 are interposed between the head of the bolt and the shoulder 28. A sleeve 31 of a resilient substance such as rubber or fabric reinforced rubher or the like surrounds the shank of the bolt in the axial a ertures in the adaptor plate and retaining disk and is tightly confined between the fibre disks 3i and St. A cotter key may be employed to prevent accidental unscrewing of the nut from the bolt.

While the securing of the adaptor plate to the follow block by a single central member, such as the bolt 35, results in important advantages, unless the shank 36 is protected by the resilient sleeve and washers, the bolt is usually quickly sheared by the hammer impact and vibration. The provision of the resilient sleeve makes practicable the follow block and adaptor plate assembly of this invention.

Ihe circular plate 27 is preferably provided at spaced points along its periphery with a plurality of apertures 35 into which a bar may be inserted to rotate the adaptor plate about the bolt 30 in order to place the adaptor plate in proper orientation with the top of the pile which is to be driven into the earth. The adaptor plate of Figs. 1 and 2 is provided on its lower face with four spaced substantially square bosses 39, it, all and 52 which outline a pair of crossed recesses or grooves, and this adaptor plate is particularly designed to be employed in driving piles of I, H or similar sectional shapes. The broken line outline 43 of a pile illustrates the manner in which a pile of H-sectional shape fits in the grooves between the bosses of the adaptor plate. The bosses 39 to 42 have the corners which are nearest the axial aperture of the adaptor plate cut off in order that the bolt 3?) may be easily mounted in such aperture.

A modified form of adaptor plate 42, illustrated in Fig. 3, may be used in dliViIlg piles of circular section and comprises a circular body or plate 53 having a downwardly projecting circular flange 44 formed with outwardly convergent sides s5 and 136. Still another form of adaptor plate 41, illustrated in Fig. 4, may be used in driving piles of square section and comprises a circular body or plate 48 having four downwardly extending rec- 4 tangular legs 49 which are rigidly secured to the body and partially define a square.

In operation, the follow block I!) is secured to the hammer base of the pile driver in any conventional manner, for example, by chains or cables aiiixed to the body portion i i. The follow block is lowered over a pile with the legs I3 to 16 of the follow block telescoping over the end of the pile. A bar (not shown) is then inserted in one of the apertures 38 of the circular plate 27 and the adaptor plate is rotated about the bolt 353 until the adaptor plate is so oriented over the end of the pile that the bosses 39 to 42 will lie in proper position about the end section of the pile. The pile driver hammer is set in operation, subjecting the end of the pile to repeated impacts. The cushionin piles 2e and El absorb some of the components of the impact forces which tend to break the adaptor plate while the gaskets 3i and ti and the resilient sleeve 31 protect the bolt 30 against forces which would cause it to shear or break. After one pile is driven, the follow block and adapter plate is positioned over the next pile and the adaptor plate is again rotated into proper orientation with the end of the pile, and the driving operation repeated.

When desired, the adaptor plates t? or s? can be easily substituted for the first form of the adaptor plate by unscrewing the nut 33 from the bolt 3:3, removing plate 25, replacin it with the new adaptor plate and again screwing nut is on the bolt.

The chief advantages of the follow block and adaptor plate assembly lie in the simplicity of construction which leads to ease and speed of substitution of adaptor plates, the ease of orientation of the adaptor plate with respect to the end of the pile, and the protection of the securing member, the bolt 38, against the impact forces which tend to shear or break it.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory only, and changes in the details of the construction illustrated may be made by those skilled in the art, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a pile driving apparatus: a follow block provided with a central aperture; an adaptor plate for noncircular piles or the like having a configuration on its face to fit the upper end of the piles or the like, said adaptor plate being on one side of said block and having a cylindrical boss pert-ion extending into one end of said central aperture, said plate having an axial aperture extending through said cylindrical bcss portion, said cylindrical portion and said axial aperture being coincident with the axis of said first-mentioned central aperture; a retaining means in said central aperture disposed above said cylindrical boss portion and engaging said follow block; a connecting member extending through the adaptor plate aperture and into the follow block aperture and engaging said adaptor plate and said retaining means for rotatably securing said adaptor plate to said follow block for rotary movement about said connecting member; a resilient member disposed about and abutting said connecting member to provide yielding connection between said connecting member and said follow block and said adaptor plate; an impact block in the central aperture of the follow block on the other side of said follow block; and an impact cushioning means within said central aperture between said cylindrical boss portion of the adaptor plate and said impact block.

2. In a pile driving apparatus, a follow block provided with a central aperture having a central axis; an abutment on said block extending into said central aperture and providing a ledge intermediate the ends thereof and lying in a plane perpendicular to said axis; an adaptor plate for noncircular piles or the like having a configuration on its face to fit the upper end of the piles or the like, said plate being on one side of said block and having a cylindrical boss portion extending into one end of said central aperture, said adaptor plate having an axial aperture extendin through said cylindrical boss portion and coincident with the axis of said central aperture; means cooperating With said ledge for rotatably securing said adaptor plate to said block, said means comprising a connecting member extending through the adaptor plate aperture and a retaining disk in the follow block aperture above and engaging the ledge, said connecting member securing said adaptor plate to said retaining disk, said adaptor plate being rotatable about said connecting member; and resilient members disposed between said connectin member and the adaptor plate and retaining disk and abutting said connecting member to provide yielding connection between said connecting member and said adaptor plate and said block.

3. In a pile driving ap aratus, a follow block provided with an aperture having a central axis; an adaptor plate for non-circular piles or the like having a configuration on its face to fit the upper end of the piles or the like, said plate being on one side of said block and having a cylindrical boss portion extending into one end of said central aperture, said plate having an axial aperture extending through said cylindrical portion coincident with said first mentionedcentral axis; a retaining means in said central aperture above said cylindrical boss portion and engaging said follow block; a bolt havin a shank extending through said adaptor plate aperture and into the follow block aperture and. engaging said adaptor plate and said retaining means for rotatably securing said adaptor plate to said follow block for rotary movement about said central axis; and resilient members abutting the bolt and disposed between the bolt and the follow block and adaptor plate to provide yielding connection between said bolt and said block.

4. In a pile driving apparatus, a follow block having a central aperture; an adaptor plate for non-circular piles or the like having a configuration on its face to fit the upper end of the piles or the like, said plate being on one side of said block and having a cylindrical extension extending into one end of said central aperture; a connecting means extending from said cylindrical extension and engagin said plate and said block rotatably securing said plate to said block, said central aperture having a central axis, said plate being rotatable about said central axis; an impact block on the other side of said follow block and extending into the other end of said central aperture; and impact cushioning means within said central aperture between said cylindrical extension and said impact block.

5. In the device of claim 4, a resilient member about said connecting means to provide yielding connection between said connecting member and said follow block and said adaptor plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 12,718 Bern Nov. 12, 1907 1,495,968 Whitney May 2'7, 1924 1,526,355 McGowen Feb. 17, 19 5 1,943,420 Budd Jan. 16, 1934 2,005,564 Schalscha June 18, 1935 2,295,489 Riemenschneider Sept. 8, 1942 2,335,433 Minck Nov. 30, 1943 

